Get the Ricochet app

Ricochet will work fine in a browser on your mobile devices, but for the best experience please download our app.

Download on the App StoreGet it on Google Play

Become a member.

Tired of the toxicity of social media? Why not join Ricochet for just $5/month? Think of it as an online bar. Come in, have a drink, hang out, say whatever you want. But don’t badger, bully, or berate the other drinkers. That's our only rule.

AI understands my thinking better than I do. Which is scary.

Dr. Bastiat
@drbastiat
Join to bookmark30likesJoin to like84comments

I've been reading a lot about AI recently. I think this is a really big deal, and I'm trying to understand how it works. In an effort to illustrate its inherent limitations in understanding complex and disparate concepts, I went to Microsoft's Copilot and typed in, "Summarize the thinking of Dr. Bastiat on Ricochet.com." I was amazed by the response:





summarize the thinking of Dr. Bastiat on Ricochet.com










Copilot said:














Here’s a concise, source‑grounded summary of the thinking commonly expressed by “Dr. Bastiat” as a contributor and personality associated with Ricochet.com, based on publicly available interviews, guest posts, and descriptions of his appearances rather than any single article.

Core themes in Dr. Bastiat’s thinking on Ricochet

1. Skepticism of progressive policies and centralized power

Across interviews and promoted writings, Dr. Bastiat consistently argues that many modern progressive policies are emotion‑driven, rhetorically attractive, but operationally ineffective or destructive. He frequently points to areas such as border enforcement, criminal justice, and foreign policy as examples where stated intentions diverge sharply from real‑world outcomes.davecartershow+1

A recurring claim is that lack of accountability allows these policies to persist even after failure becomes evident.

2. Classical liberal and constitutional instincts

His commentary reflects a classical‑liberal orientation, emphasizing:

  • Limited government
  • Rule of law
  • Individual liberty
  • Constitutional constraints on democratic excess

In guest‑blog posts promoted on Ricochet, he warns that democracy without institutional or cultural restraint can devolve into elected tyranny, especially when citizens knowingly empower leaders who disregard constitutional limits. rushbabe49

3. A realist view of human nature

Dr. Bastiat’s outlook is grounded in the assumption that human incentives, not ideal intentions, drive outcomes. This perspective echoes the thinking of Frédéric Bastiat (from whom the pseudonym is derived), particularly the idea that policymaking must account for unintended consequences rather than only stated goals.

This realism underpins his criticism of utopian social planning and large‑scale bureaucratic solutions. davecartershow

4. Civilizational and cultural concerns

In conversations and shows associated with Ricochet, he frames politics as downstream from culture, arguing that:

  • A society’s moral and civic norms matter more than technocratic fixes
  • Cultural decay eventually weakens legal and political institutions
  • The West’s confidence in its own legitimacy is eroding

These concerns surface repeatedly in Ricochet podcasts and member programs where he appears as a regular intellectual voice. youtube+1

5. Partisan realism without romanticism

While critical of the political left, Dr. Bastiat is not portrayed as an uncritical partisan. In interviews, he has argued that political success often results not from virtue but from mastery of institutions, messaging, and incentives, including cases where leaders he opposes still outperform expectations within flawed systems. davecartershow

This leads to analysis that can sound contrarian even to allies.

Summary in one paragraph

Dr. Bastiat’s thinking on Ricochet centers on classical‑liberal skepticism toward concentrated power, a realist view of human incentives, and a cultural understanding of political decline. He argues that progressive policies often fail because they ignore human nature and institutional limits, that democracy without restraint risks tyranny, and that cultural weakness precedes political collapse. His tone is critical but analytical, emphasizing consequences over intentions and realism over idealism. davecartershow+2

If you’d like, I can:

  • Compare Dr. Bastiat’s views explicitly with Frédéric Bastiat
  • Isolate his foreign‑policy vs domestic thinking
  • Summarize a specific Ricochet article, podcast, or appearance of his

Just tell me which direction you want to go.

Yikes. That's pretty good. In fact, that's remarkable.

I haven't followed up with its suggestions. It's a little creepy having a computer tell me what I think. It's even creepier when that computer is mostly correct. It's creepier still when it seems to understand my thinking better than I do. I couldn't have produced such a concise summary. Heck, I've been trying and failing to do exactly that for 10 years.

Imagine the power AI holds, when it understands the thinking of all of us - 8 billion individuals. Imagine how marketing is about to change. Heck, product development. Financial planning. Restaurants. Corporate culture. Geopolitics. Imagine if AI really understands us better than we understand ourselves. Imagine what it could do.

Oh my God...

This post was promoted to the Main Feed at the recommendation of Ricochet's members.

Discussion (84)

  • GPentelie@GPentelie

    You just inspired me to prompt SuperGrok to provide its analysis of you, just to see how it compares to Copilot's. Here is its answer (46 seconds; bolding in the original):

    "Dr. Bastiat (Coolidge member on Ricochet.com) is a prolific, analytically rigorous conservative thinker and author of numerous member posts. He specializes in dissecting the psychological roots of leftism/progressivism, cultural observations, government overreach, and personal responsibility. Often sparking extended discussions (with peers praising his high I.Q. and serious approach), he draws on studies, news events, historical analogies, personal anecdotes (e.g., travels, conversations like one about David Mamet), and logical inconsistencies in leftist thinking. He rarely stops at surface policy debates; instead, he probes motivations, human nature, and strategic adaptations of ideology for power.

    Key themes in his thinking:

    • Leftism as resentment-driven radicalism, not coherent ideology: Leftists are fundamentally unhappy radicals who externalize failure onto "the system" (American capitalism, free markets, traditional norms) rather than taking personal responsibility. Polls and studies show they report higher unhappiness and mental health issues than conservatives. They adopt socialism, Marxism, or other anti-system causes "by default" as vehicles for rage and jealousy—not because they believe these systems work (they know the historical misery). This leads to strange alliances (e.g., left-wing activists with Islamists or Palestinians) united only by anti-American hatred. Mislabeling them as sincere socialists leads to failed conservative arguments like "Venezuela shows socialism fails"—they already know that.
    • Adaptation of Marxism to America via identity politics: Traditional economic/class-based Marxism falters in the prosperous, mobile U.S., where individuals can rise through effort. Democrats evolved it into "identity Marxism" (or something that "works better in America"): a rigid oppressor/oppressed framework based on immutable traits like race and sexuality. White heterosexuals become the permanent villains (America's builders now vilified), while others are cast as victims. Institutions (schools, media, Hollywood, administrative state, social media) saturate society with this narrative to sow division, guilt, and hate—more dangerous than economic Marxism because it glorifies violence against "oppressors" without ethics and resists mobility. The sole consistent "ideology" is the pursuit of power and control.
    • Critiques of leftist logic, risk, regulation, and "Other People's Money" (OPM): He exposes hypocrisies with sharp analogies—e.g., DDT bans protecting bird eggs (potential life) while supporting abortion (potential human life is dismissed); a firebombed abortion clinic treated as a mere "construction site" vs. its intended future use; or government projects funded by federal/state grants ("OPM") that create dependency and avoid local accountability. Socialism's core flaw is addiction to OPM, eroding personal responsibility and making everyone wards of the state. He ties this to broader skepticism of overregulation, eugenics undertones in abortion advocacy (e.g., Planned Parenthood roots), and selective concern for "potential life" or the vulnerable.
    • Gratitude, human nature, and pragmatic engagement: He promotes gratitude as an antidote to despair and resentment. Observational pieces reflect on everyday beauty, heroes, cultural quirks (e.g., people-watching in France), and the value of presence/inspiration. While deeply critical of the left, he advocates understanding their emotional/resentment roots to engage effectively rather than pure ideological purity—sometimes favoring transactional politics with imperfect leaders. Conservatives should address unhappiness and foster motivation/resilience over endless policy wonkery.

    In short, Dr. Bastiat's Ricochet thinking is that of a truth-seeking diagnostician of modern politics: leftism thrives on cultivated grievances and adaptable power-seeking rather than fixed principles; America's success makes identity-based division a more potent (and destructive) tool than old Marxism; personal responsibility, gratitude, and clear-eyed analysis of human flaws are essential counters. His style is probing, evidence-driven, and conversational—inviting debate while consistently prioritizing root causes over slogans. He has appeared in podcasts (e.g., Dave Carter Show) expanding on why progressives push failing policies. Much content is visible publicly, though full profile/comments are membership-restricted."

    Quite good, I'd say.

  • Dr. Bastiat@drbastiat
    ReplyingtoGPentelie

    GPentelie (View Comment):

    Quite good, I’d say.

    That's amazing as well. Although I think the Copilot version was a more straightforward and concise summary, better focused on overall themes.

    Although you could argue that Grok's relative lack of focus makes for a more realistic representation of my writing.

    Again, though - I'm just amazed. This stuff didn't exist a year ago. And now look at it.

  • MarciN@MarciN

    The lack of parallelism in the numbered-list lead-ins is troubling. Any "intelligent" machine or being must think logically and group like things together.

    In answer to your query "Summarize the thinking of Dr. Bastiat on Ricochet.com," these are the five headings:

    Skepticism of progressive policies and centralized power

    Classical liberal and constitutional instincts

    A realist view of human nature

    Civilizational and cultural concerns

    Partisan realism without romanticism

    That is such a jumbled mess of apples and oranges and unfounded assumptions that I don't know where to start to edit it. And the AI wouldn't understand what I was getting at in asking it to edit its own copy. A starting point is making the items consistent grammatically. When one does that, one can immediately see the apples amid the oranges.

    Are we talking about Dr. Bastiat as a person with certain personality traits, or are we talking about his thinking? And how do we know what he thinks? All we know is what he writes. One should be able to finish a lead-in for a displayed list to complete the sentence the lead-in begins. In fact, the AI should have replied, "We can't know Dr. Bastiat's 'thinking.' We can only know his opinions as he has expressed them on Ricochet.com." That would be an accurate response to begin with.

    Good grief.

    AI won't be taking over any editor's job for a long time to come. :) :) :)

    I am amused by it, but I can't take it seriously.

  • MarciN@MarciN

    I edited my comment (number 3) because I was interrupted and hit the "comment" button too hastily. In case anyone read it in the last ten minutes, I just want to say that I have seen the many errors and I have fixed them. :)

Scroll for later comments
+79 more comments
Join the conversation

You're seeing five of 84 comments. Sign in, or join for just $5 per month, to read them all and add your own.